Tuesday, 8 September 2009

Crib Goch

The weather forecast was fairly horrible with both high winds and rain predicted; the warm-up day was spent at Clogwyn Cyrau near Betws Y Coed rather than Tryfan because of the high winds in the Ogwen Valley. However at least we stayed reasonably dry there and covered all of the rope techniques that we would need on Crib Goch itself.

The following day was looking fairly grim as well, but at least this meant there were parking places in the Pen Y Pass car park.

It was fairly windy on the approach to the ridge itself with lots of low lying clag, but the wind died completely as we hit the ridge itself - perfect timing! The traverse along the famous ridge went very smoothly despite the rock being quite wet and slippery. The Pinnacles at the end of the ridge were climbed successfully before the wind hit us again on the strenuous hike up to the summit.

It was a long day out on the hill and getting late so we opted for the luxury of taking the train back down to Llanberis, where Simon met us for a quick trip back up the Llanberis Pass to the Pen Y Pass.

A perfect example of perseverance and hard work being well rewarded. It would have been all to easy to use the weather as an excuse to not try the ridge, but by taking it one step at a time we stayed safe, in control and were in the right place to make the most of the opportunity when the wind eased. A good day out.

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Rock Climbing Company

The Rock Climbing Company offers high quality mountaineering and climbing instruction that covers all the traditional mountain skills such as rock climbing, scrambling and navigation. We arrange courses for all levels of ability and experience.

The majority of our courses are arranged privately with customised itineraries to meet client's specific requirements.

We always try to deliver inspirational climbing and mountaineering instruction that progresses at a rate you are comfortable with, teaches you exactly what you want to know and gives you an adventurous experience that you will remember for a long time.

About Me

I am a mountaineering and rock climbing instructor who has been climbing all over the world for more than 24 years.
I instruct in both North Wales and Spain. In the summer I am based near Betws-y-Coed in Snowdonia and in the winter I run climbing holidays in southern Spain near Malaga, Granada and El Chorro.
I hold the Mountain Instructor Award and am a member of the Association of Mountaineering Instructors. I am also qualified as a Modern Language Teacher and am fluent in Spanish, French and Italian.
My climbing CV includes the first female ascent of Cerro Fitz Roy in Patagonia, the Bonatti Pillar, the Walker Spur and the North Face of the Eiger. In the UK I have led many E5s on traditional gear.
In sport climbing I have climbed over forty routes graded 8a and above in locations throughout Europe, UK, Asia and Australia and recently red-pointed El Oraculo (8b) in El Chorro, Spain and Golpe de Calor (8b) in Villanueva del Rosario.